Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz defended his comments about unattractive, overweight abortion protesters, telling those upset to “be offended”.
During his speech at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Gaetz touched on the recent protests against the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions?” he said.
“Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb,” he shouted. “These people are odious on the inside and out”.
“They’re like 5’2″, 350 pounds and they’re like, ‘Give me my abortions or I’ll get up and march and protest.’ And I’m thinking, ‘March?’ You look like you got ankles weaker than the legal reasoning behind Roe v. Wade,” Gaetz joked.
“A few of them need to get up and march. They need to get up and march for like an hour a day, swing those arms, get the blood pumping, maybe mix in a salad, he added.
Gaetz was asked by a reporter, “Is it safe to say that, based off your comments, you’re suggesting that these women at these abortion rallies are ugly and overweight?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“What do you say to people who think those comments are offensive?” the reporter asked.
“Be offended,” Gaetz responded.
The congressman is currently under federal investigation for the alleged sex trafficking of a 17-year-old girl.
The Washington Post said in January that investigators are determining whether “Gaetz paid for sex, had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, and whether he paid for women to travel across state lines to have sex, which would violate sex-trafficking laws”.